Editing Via Rail (section)

===Formation and early years===
[[File:Discontinued VIA Rail train, Ontario Northland Station, Cochrane, Ontario.jpg|thumb|A Via Rail train at [[Cochrane station (Ontario)|Cochrane station]] in August 1978. Earlier that year, [[Canadian National Railway|CNR]] and [[Canadian Pacific Railway|CPR]] passenger rail service were spun off into Via Rail Canada.]]
On January 12, 1977, CN spun off its passenger services as a separate Crown corporation, Via Rail Canada. At its inception, Via acquired all CN passenger cars and locomotives. Following several months of negotiation, on October 29, 1978, Via assumed all CP passenger train operations and took possession of cars and locomotives. Passenger train services which were not included in the creation of Via Rail included those offered by [[BC Rail]], [[Algoma Central Railway]], [[Ontario Northland Railway]], [[Quebec North Shore and Labrador Railway]], various urban commuter train services operated by CN and CP, and remaining CN passenger services in [[Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundland]]. At this time, Via did not own any trackage and had to pay right-of-way fees to CN and CP, sometimes being the only user of rural branch lines.{{Citation needed|date=September 2009}}

Via initially had a tremendous variety of equipment—much of it in need of replacement—and operated routes stretching from [[Sydney, Nova Scotia]], to [[Prince Rupert, British Columbia]], and north to [[Churchill, Manitoba]]. Over 150 scheduled trains per week were in operation, including transcontinental services, regional trains, and [[Quebec-Windsor Corridor|corridor]] services.{{Citation needed|date=September 2009}}

While Via remains an independent federal Crown corporation mandated to operate as a business, it is hindered by the fact that it was created by an [[order in council]] and not from legislation passed by [[Parliament of Canada|Parliament]]. Had Via been enabled by legislation, the company would be permitted to seek funding on the open money markets as other Crown corporations such as CN have done in the past. It is largely for this reason that critics say Via—like [[Amtrak]] in the United States—is vulnerable to federal budget cuts and continues to answer first to its political masters, as opposed to the business decisions needed to ensure the viability of intercity passenger rail service.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/via-rail-seeking-federal-budget-funding-for-1-3b-passenger-car-upgrade-in-toronto-montreal-corridor |author=Jason Fekete |title=Via Rail seeking federal budget funding for $1.3B passenger car upgrade in Toronto-Montreal corridor |publisher=National Post |date=February 29, 2016 |access-date=March 2, 2016}}</ref>